MILLIGAN FAMILY ADVENTURES - 2008

this is our family update letter for the year 2008
thought it would be fun to post it here for any buddy to read


God has given us a fruitful year of growing in His grace. He has kept our family adventures full of fellowship and friendships. We even fit in some fun time for house play (home work) and learning opportunities (home school) for all. We had wanted to write a Christmas letter soto send out this year, but decided to wait for the arrival of Baby Milligan #6 for one mass mailing.

The first fruits of this new year are already in bloom with the birth of our daughter Shiloh Jubilee. She was born at home on Monday, February 23 at 1:50 am. She weighted 7# 2 oz, was 20 in long, and has lots of beautiful dark brown hair. Shiloh is a Hebrew name meaning place of rest, to be in safety, tranquil. It was the location of the tabernacle in biblical times - the place of worship before the temple was built. In Genesis 49, the word Shiloh refers to the coming of the Messiah - the fufillment being Jesus Christ, our confident expectation or hope. Jubilee means celebration, to be set free. Every 50th year for the Hebresw people was to be a Jubilee. It was the time when lslaves were set free, land returned to the family, a Sabbath rest for the whole year! So once again, we packed meaning into our child's name in hope that God will answer what we have spoken into her and fill her with the power of His Spirit.

Her arrival was surprisingly our quickest one yet, continuing our pattern of unpredictable and exciting birth stories. Our prayer was for God's timing and He blessed us with perfect peace. As each birth has been, it was an opportunity of faith and trust in the true Deliverer of life. So, I'll try to keep it short. (You may view our family blog milligannation.blogspot.com for the full version or make a request of a hard copy with a simple phone call.) Sunday, Kim had short, mild, very sporadic cantractions throughout the day. Grandpa and Grandma Strub decided to spent the night and arrived at our house around 9 pm. We stayed up chatting till about midnight. At 12:15 Kim woke up to a more intense ctxn and 2 more good strong ones at 12:30 and 12:45. Then at 1:20 she woke up to her water breaking. Soon after, she had a series of ctxns with only seconds of pause between. It was then that Mark woke up Grandpa and Grandma Strub and called our midwives. Moments later our daughter was born with Daddy and Grandma as the birthing team. Grandma Strub had the delight of "catching" the baby! All was PERFECTLY well! Once our midwives arrived, we did all of the usual: delivery of the placenta, cutting of the cord, momma and baby checkups, and got pampered by our midwives blessed service, all in the comfort of our home. The children met their new baby sister in the morning. They were all delighted and excited. Yes, Leannora LOVES having a sister! Nikao calls her "baby Low" and was convinced that she was a baby boy for the first couple of days. Able calls her "Shi shoh" or "Shah doh." He giggles and squeals as he says his word for doggie "dahgee" and points to Shiloh.

I could write a book on the blessings of our children and how they have grown this year! It's hard to believe that one year ago our Able boy was just a few months old. He has gone from Able Baby to big brother with such praise and admiration from his adoring family. Amiable describes him well. He is a delight to us all. Tornado Able is his most recent description as his early mobility and curious personality take him everywhere and into everything. God has prepared him in such short order for becoming a big brother at 16 months.

Nikao and Able are fellow chatterboxes. Nikao has taken off with words. He has a wonderful mix of enjoying others and his own individuality. It is fun to watch his unique fit in our family as he is strong in determination and definitely full of love.

Leannora is practicing patience as a princess. She can hardly wait to be a momma and meaures all time by this grand achievement. Her brothers test her little mothering ways. It is sweet to see her innocence and fenininity shine.. She loves to learn, loves to play cowgirl, loves her doll Anna, loves her brothers, and LOVES being a big siter to her new baby sister.

Owen is our bundle of energy. When he is still, he is asleep soundly. But before he sleeps he makes sure every ounce of energy is out. He loves to sneak around doing special things for others, but it is most enjoyed when he can give a surprise. He is full of imagination set to burst when just the right moment of maturity sparks new surprises.

Hogan keeps us on our toes as we are always amazed at his sharp mind. He has mastered reading and is moving on in math and manhood. He will be celebrating his golden birthday this month - 8 years old on March 8th. It is only such a short time that we have the privilege of preparing our children for the path God has chosen for them. Oh that we make the most of every moment!

God has blessed our family this past year with some wonderful family adventures. Our home has been a happening place! We've welcomed a good share of visitors - family, church friends, neighbors, new friends from the community. Looking over the calendar we enjoyed guests for meals, overnights, games, play, prayer, homework, remodeling, cleaning, meeting baby - so much sweet fellowship!

We also enjoyed a bit of traveling for more fellowship - visiting grandparents in McFarland, Ames, and Dixon; our first family vacation to TN which included visiting friends, a wonderful 3 day Milligan family reunion, a visit at the Creation nuseum with both the Strub and Milligan grandparents, and camping at Turnkey run State Park in IN; a special weekend at BoJo's cabin in WI; helping people move; helping and playing at Uncle Joe's work weekend; helping friends with a bathroom remodel; a kickball picnic; many church activities; homeschool group gathers and field trips; raspberry and apple picking; a childless date to a musical The Rock and The Rabbi; Highway to Heaven band practice and concerts; Nachusa Grasslands family day; 10 year high school class reunion; buddy days; and business adventures.

Our home has taken on some transformation this year too. We were amazed at all that was accomplished. Here's a quick list: electrical; toilet; trim, paint, and French doors in FR; clouds and night sky painted in Leannora's bedroom; bay windows painted; insulate house; plenty of destructo (enough for a dumpster in our driveway!); kitchen and mudroom remodel; DR and LR painted !!!!! My husband is amazing! Our parents are awesome! The Layhews are incredible! Our friends are indescribable! Thank you!

We are expecting more exciting adventures this new year as we wait on God's timing to reveal His blessings upon and directions for our family in 2009. We hope that you are equally blessed by His peace and joy. We send our love and greetings and smiles to you all. Also, you are welcome to join in our adventures anytime. We would enjoy a visit, phone call, card, e-mail, or even blog post!

Love in Him,
The Milligan family
Mark, Kim, Hogan, Owen, Leannora, Nikao, Able and Shiloh


and here we are getting ready to take our family picture on the saddle in our family room. it's always an adventure trying to get everybody to smile and all that camera crazy stuff. and now we have 8 people to pose! thanks to Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sara for helping us with the pictures!

Welcome Shiloh Jubilee Milligan!

Shiloh Jubilee was born at home on Monday, Febrary 23 at1:50 am. She weighed 7# 2oz, was 20 in. long, and has lots of beautiful dark brown hair.

Once again, we packed meaning into our child's name in hope that God will answer what we have spoken into her and fill her with the power of His Spirit. Shiloh is a Hebrew name meaning place of rest, to be in safety, tranquil. It was the location of the tabernacle in biblical times - the place of worship before the temple was built. In Genesis 49, the word Shiloh refers to the coming of the Messiah - the fulfillment being Jesus Christ our confident expectation or hope. Jubilee means celebration, to be set free. Every 50th year for the Hebrew people was to be a Jubilee. It was the time when the slaves were set free, land returned to the family, a Sabbath rest for the whole year!
Shiloh's arrival was surprisingly our quickest one yet, continuing our pattern of unpredictable, adventurous, and exciting birth stories. Our prayer was for God's timing and He blessed us with perfect peace. As each birth has been, it was an opportunity of faith and trust in the true Deliverer of life.


Sunday, Kim began the day as a usual getting-ready-for-church-morning and noticed she was having contractions. They were short, mild, very sporadic, and continued throughout the day. We went to church, had an indoor picnic lunch after church, visited an open house just for fun, enjoyed a long quiet time (nap time), and spent the evening relaxing - Kim cozied up on the couch and caught up on some reading while the children played. Grandpa and Grandma Strub decided to spend the night at the last minute and arrived at our house around 9 pm. We watched a Monk episode borrowed from the library and stayed up chatting till about midnight. Kim had still been having ctxns, more intense as the day went on, and noticed them being closer together as we talked. She wasn't really kepping track and hadn't felt the need to time them yet, so we all went to bed thinking maybe we would begin labor in the morning!?!

At 12:15 Kim woke up to a more intense ctxn lasting about 30 seconds and 2 more good strong ones followed at 12:30 and 12:45 maybe a minute long. Then at 1:20 she woke up to water breaking. Soon after, she had one long, intense ctxn requiring a lot of concentration. Kim asked Mark to pray as she was beginning to feel a bit fearful Mark prayed and immediately God gave us this great sense of peace. Mark asked Kim if he should call the midwives and Kim suggested we wake up her mom first. Just as Kim's parents were getting up, Kim began a series of ctxn with only seconds of pause between. At this point, we recognized things were going to progress quickly. Yet there was no concern that the midwives would not make it. We knew this was God's timing and He was covering over us with His presence. Mark asked Lucy to turn up the thermostat while he called our midwife. Just as Grandma returned to our bedroom, our daughter was born with Daddy and Grandma as the birthing team. Grandma Stub had the delight of "catching" the baby!


All was PERFECTLY well! Once our midwives arrived, we did all of the ususal: delivery of the placenta, cutting of the cord, momma and baby checkups, and got pampered by our midvives blessed service, all in the comfort of our home. We cannot describe how wonderful it is to have a home birth. We love that God has given us this gift!




The children met their new baby sister in the morning. This is one of the best parts of having baby #6. They were all delighted and excited. We took lots of pictures and videos to capture the joy of the morning's surprise. Kim could hardly sleep anticipating being able to share Shiloh with her big brothers and sister.

Yes, Leannora LOVES having a sister! She thinks everything about Shiloh is wonderful - her tiny fingers, her pretty clothes, her little diapers, and that she is a girl! We have a little momma in the making.

Nikao calls her "baby Low" and was convinced that she was a baby boy for the first couple of days. He tells us when "baby Low uh whihn ing" (whining = crying).

Able calls her "Shi shoh" or "Shah doh." He giggles and squeals as he says his word for doggie "dahgee" and points to Shiloh. It has become a game to him - he says doggie, we answer baby, and then we all laugh together. It must be pretty confusing for a 16 month old little boy. All he has known is that we have called my tummy "baby." How could he understand that Shiloh is really the baby that was in momma's tummy? Well, it's hard for me to grasp the miracle of God's creation of life in the womb too. Anyways, it's adorable.

The children have all taken turns holding and caring for Shiloh. She will never be in need of a protector with 4 big brothers. We are already looking forward to seeing how all the childrens relationships will develop with one another as they grow. I imagine Hogan and Owen will have a constant admirer in their sweet baby sister.

Grandpa and Grandma Strub stayed with us for the first few days letting the momma get losts of rest. It was a wonderful time of blessing as they enjoyed the children to the fullest, took care of meals, dishes, laundry, diapers, quiet time, play time and everything in between.